Stacie's Journey for Weight Loss and the 1/2 Marathon Jan 09!

[hockeygirl]

Hey Stacie---Can't wait to hear all about your race!! I hear you did awesome!!!!

Hope you are having fun in WDW!

 

[ScoJo15]

....beat you to your journal!!!

WELCOME BACK!!! Do tell your story please....

It was AWESOME hanging out with you guys, thanks for a fun night in MK Happy Anniversary again!!

Ok...I'll shut up so you can give us your trip report

 

[postesf]

Moved everything to be together...NEXT PAGE!

 

[ScoJo15]

Great report and great pics!

Congratulations to your entire family for completing such an amazing journey, you guys all earned those medals :

Can't wait to see/read more!

 

[deekaypee]

Stacie,

Great RR, with lots of details about your trip. I loved the pictures--you all look so happy! (So are your DH and Larry camera shy, like me? )

I'm so impressed with your time, and it's great that you, your mom, and your dad were so close together throughout the race. And Susan rocked, too!

I can't wait for more....

 

[toystoryduo]

Welcome Back, Stacie!!! Great pictures and a great race report!!! I can't wait to hear more about it! I am so proud of you and Susan and your whole family! Congratulations to you all!

 

[ScoJo15]

 

[postesf]

I know, I know... I'm having issues w/ pictures...Hopefully more tonight!

 

[JustSmile]

Stacie!
I'm so proud of you. What a great accomplishment for you and to be able to share it with your family is such a blessing! You did an awesome job with a great time! I can't wait to read more and see more pics. You always have such a great big smile on your face.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Stacie,

I am so proud of you and loved your pictures! I have a face to go with the name now! You worked so hard and it paid off! Congratulations, I am so proud of you guys!

 

[postesf]

Hello everyone. My pics are uploading right now as I type so here I go with a Mini trip report!

Friday, May 2
We fly out of RDU to Orlando. We have a nice non-eventful flight, arrive safely and hop on the ME to Saratoga Springs. We arrive and make our way to our room where Susan and Larry have already checked in. We head over to Fulton's Crabhouse for lunch. It was so-so. My salad was good, but the service was lacking. Not sure we'll be going back there. Then it's off to Packet pickup at the WWoS. We see Scott and Amy there. WOW--what a nice suprise! I just them! Susan was super excited to meet them. After a quick chat w/ them, we all picked up our packets and headed off to the grocery store and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, May 3
We are up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the 5K. Everyone is excited and nervous. This mine and Matt's 2nd 5K, but my mom, dad, Susan and Larry's 1st. Susan encouraged us all to run our own race so we all did the best we could.

This is mom and myself coming up on the finish. The girl behind us in red decided to "pace" with us. (I thought...really? Pace with US? but OK...)

Here's Dad coming up on the finish:

And...Susan!

Matt was the one doing all the picture taking so he's not in any pics...

Our times were:
Matt: 33:09 WOW!!! NO TRAINING!
Mom: 43:09
Me: 43:10
Dad: 45:54
Susan: 1:00:54
Larry: 1:01:30

We all had a great time. I had a great time cheering for fellow WISHers and meeting others before the Start!!! Hi guys!

I am so proud of all of my family. Susan!!! Way to go! Dad! SO proud!

I touches my heart so much that my family was able to do this and we were able to share in our successes together!!!

So...Matt was totally wiped out from the 5K so my mom, dad and I went to Magic Kingdom for a while in the afternoon. We did a few shows/rides and then were off to the WISH meet at POR. Getting in and of POR is a hassle! I like the resort but will probably shy away from staying there due to transportation. It was so great to meet some fellow WISHers! (for pics, see Scott's blog!) Then Matt, mom, dad and myself were off to Grand Floridian Cafe for dinner while Susan and Larry went to Flying Fish. The food was good! Matt suprised me early with my anniversary presents! A massage at the SSR spa and a carriage ride (back at POR) We have never done a carriage ride before and it was so cool! I'd love to do one again some time maybe at Fort Wilderness! Overall, it was a great day!!!

 

[postesf]

Saturday, May 3
The Start of the 15K
The alarm goes off at 3:30 AM!!!! Geez! That is early! I hop out of bed (ok, not really, I fell out) and started to get ready. We had a cab ready at 4:30 am to share with a fellow WISHer to the start. We arrive super early. I think only 10 folks were there. Not soon after do people starting coming in. We hang with the WISHers and continue to get nervous. This is the furthest distance I have ever been! The day before I did not hydrate well and so I was a little concerned about that. Instead of stopping my fluid intake an hour before the race as planned, I casually sipped on an orange gatorade. I was sooo hoping to see Scott and Amy before the race. I kept waiting and waiting and no Scott and Amy... FINALLY...they appear. They are more experienced at this and knew they did need to wake up at the crack of dawn! It was such a relief to see them. Just something about their presence made me feel better and more relaxed...a little more hopeful. We speak to them really quick before it's time to go line up. They head to the front, we head to the back. Before we know it...it's time and we're off!

Mile 1
Lots of folks are initially passing us and that's ok. I knew I wanted to go a bit slower and really pace myself. 9.3 miles is no small feat. I start my Garmin, but realize it's picking up from the 5K time. Nope, that won't work. I try to restart it and nothing. I cut it off, cut it back on and it won't pick up a signal. ugh. So...it never would keep my avg pace, just current pace so I found myself constantly looking at it to gage what my pace was. Eventhough I pottied before the race, the nerves and gatorade were getting to me. Luckily, they had potties in Mile 1 so I made a quick stop. I was good after that.

Miles 2-8
I was very pleased with our performance. I felt good, kept a descent pace...We saw some fellow WISHers around Mile 2. We stuck with them for a few miles and Stacey (Tink06) and I ran together for a bit. Around Mile 4, Matt and picked up the pace and a bit and pulled away. We did a walk/run combo... There was really no method. Just ran when I wanted and walked when I wanted. I had a super fast walking pace. A few times the Garmin registered around a 13/13:30 pace! Whenever I would see anyone a bike (a medic or a perceived sweeper) it always helped me to pick up the pace a bit. I ate a few packs of beans and got water at all the water stops.

At one water stop Matt picked up some of the Powerade and instead of pooring the water on his head accidentally poored the Powerade on it instead! I about died. It was soo funny!

Finally around Mile 5 we are coming to Hollywood Studios! Yay! I was getting really tired of running on the road...BORING! As we come into the back of HS, I see a pregnant woman in front of me. He and her DH and really doing well! I'm sure she crossed the finish line before us. We pass ToT some backstage stuff. Pretty cool! Then it's off to the Boardwalk. HOW PRETTY! It was such a "pick me up." Just gorgeous in the morning light. By now, the booty hydration bag Matt is wearing it starting to come in handy. I'm needing my gatorade the last few miles. Suprisingly the water stops kept me good unil Miles 7/8. We enter Epcot and start around the contries....Again!

Miles 8/9
As we head around the countries in World Showcase my brain says...Yay! Only 1 more mile! My body says...Ok. I'm done. You've trained for 8 miles, we're there and I'm done. That last mile was a battle between my brain and my body. You're done...Nope, you're not...You're done...NO I said!

THE FINISH
I make it through the last mile, head out of Epcot and start looking for those bright green shirts! I see them! My mom, dad and Susan on the left...Scott, Amy and other WISHers on the right. Oh, Thank you I am almost there! Everyone is waving and cheering. As we head down the final stretch, we run it out and as I look over to my left, my dad is running to the finish with us just outside the gate. I don't think I will ever forget that. It means so much that my parents (and sister) were there to see me do this. They met us at the finish, congratulated us, and I head off to the medic tent to get some ice for the back of my knee. I proceed through the line to get my medal, some fruit and Matt, myself and my dad head off to go cheer on the rest. We wait for our time to be posted, chat a bit w/ Scott and Amy and then off back to the resort.

Back at the resort, Matt and I head to the "quiet" pool. It was freezing the day before so I knew this would be good for my muscles. Well...it was closed! We trek up to the main pool, I hop in and the water is warm. I take advantage anyway and swim around a bit to try to losen up those muscles. We head back to the room and take a nap. We had plans to EMH at MK that night so I knew I would never make without a nap. Ahhh. Sleep! The rest of the family had gone to MK and when they get back we grill out some hotdogs and hamburgers for diner and then Matt and I head off to MK. We rode a few rides and then meet up with Scott and Amy for some extra fun! Matt was feeling pretty worn out as he had done NO TRAINING for either race, but after Scott and Amy showed up and he had some water, he did start to feel better. I think he was mainly dehydrated. I t was so cool to hang out with them!!! We had a blast! Scott totally tricked us into riding Splash Mountain and we got SOAKED! (Check out Scott's blog as he will most likely post the pic! I'm not seeing it in my photobucket...hmmm) We also did Jungle Cruise (very funny) and Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. What a great night!!! Thanks so much for hanging with us guys!!! We got back to the room around 2pm and we were out for the night!

 

[postesf]

Monday, May 5

We head over to Hollywood Studios for ToT fun which we got both my mom and dad on! I think this is my favorite ride!!! LOVE ToT! Then to Rock'in Rollercoaster. My mom braved this one...but only once. Matt and Susan rode a 2nd time. Matt decided he wanted ice cream (DIP ice cream) and come to find out...No one serves DIP ice cream before 12n! Not in HS, Not in Epcot. We had lunch ressies at Marakesh for 1pm so we headed over to Epcot (yes...searched for ice cream but none was to be found). Marakesh was very tasty. I was a little leary about trying it, but it was good.

After lunch we headed back to the room, took a nap and Matt and I had dinner at Narcoosee's for our Anniversary. YUM! I had a steak and it was fantastic. Yummy AuGratin taters too! Wishes started about 1/2 way through our dinner, but decided to go out on the balcony and watch anyway. After Wishes we had the yummy cheesecake dessert and headed back to SSR. It was a really nice night. Great company, good food, nice fireworks...

ToT pic!

Tuesday, May 6

Matt and Susan and I did Typhoon Lagoon. It was fun. We have never done a Disney waterpark before and we had a good time. We had lunch there and headed back to SSR. Naps again! We are just worn out! We had dinner from the food court and Matt and I went to Downtown Disney for a while.

Wedensday, May 7

Epcot day! We got up, went to Epcot and rode Soar'in, Nemo, Figment and had lunch in Mexico. Matt decided he wanted Chef's de France so he went there while we had Mexican. Then guess what...Back to SSR for a nap! Do you see a pattern here? lol! After our nap it was off to Cali Grill for dinner. Yum! We also got to see Wished from the balcony which was very nice.

Here are some random pics from that day.

Thursday, May 8

My mom, Susan and I went on the Backstage Tour and the boys all went fishing. Everyone had a great time. Who knew they did so much Laundry at WDW! WOW. Found out some really cool stuff on the tour. It was fun. If you are into the backstage stuff, it's pretty cool. Spoodles was dinner. We had the shrimp pasta. I thought it was pretty descent. Everyone had a good day and we were all so tired so after dinner it back to SSR to relax a bit.

Friday, May 9

BOMA! We packed up and sent our luggage over to POP as Matt, mom and dad and myself had one night there. Then we headed off to Boma at AKL for breakfast. There was loads of food and it was very tasty. It was a great buffet breakfast. After breakfast, Susan and Larry depart for home and mom, dad, Matt and I head over to AK. We do the Safari and Everest and mom and dad catch the Nemo show while I get our boarding passes printed (Southwest). After AK, we head over to POP to check and as soon as we get in our room, we all crash and you guessed it...Took a nap! We have dinner at the Food Court and just hang out for the rest of the night. Our trip has come to and end... So sad.

Overall we had a great time. I think everyone was a bit more tired this go round. The races really wore us out. It was a pretty relaxing trip and it was great to spend some quality time with the family. Thanks to my sister for sharing SSR with us!!! We met some great people and go to hang out with some of WISH buddies. Good food. New experiences. Just a great trip all around! The end of our vacation came way too soon. I really could have used a few more days! Now, I'm back to the real world, back to work. How much longer til January???

 

[Caitsmama]

Stacie, what a great TR!! Thanks for sharing!! I am gonna be waiting anxiously to hear how your 1/2 goes in Jan -- since i signed up for the March 1/2! LOL

 

[kimwim8]

Really GREAT report, Stacie! You and Matt are a beautiful couple! You take really great pictures together!

You totall ROCKED those races, girl. You're an inspiration!

 

[deekaypee]

Stacie, great RR and TR. Loved the pictures--you and Matt are such a cute couple! (As are your parents.) I'm glad to hear your races went well--your rocked them both--and that your anniversary trip was relaxing and filled with friends and family. I can't wait to meet you in January!

 

[toystoryduo]

A great trip report and great pictures, Stacie! I am so proud of each and every one of you! What a blessing to be able to share such special moments with friends and family!

I hope you have a great day tomorrow!

 

[larry's girl]

Hi, baby doll. Just popping in to say again how PROUD I am of you. Anyone who knows us will tell you that we used to be the original couch potatoes. I am pretty sure that you hated exercise almost as much as I did and we avoided it at all costs. Then all of a sudden you decided it was time to change that, and look what happened - you got our whole family involved! So many people have read my RR and TR and said that I am an inspiration, but I beg to differ. YOU are the inspiration, as far as I am concerned. You are the one that first got me thinking about where I want to go in terms of my physical health, and then you were the first one who encouraged me not to give up when I had such a tough winter and was so discouraged and ready to quit. YOU ROCK and I know you will accomplish much more as time goes on. I see many successful races, Disney and otherwise, in your future.

Just wanted to say that this morning. Love ya bunches - have a good one!

Susan

 

[Amy&Dan]

Stacie,

I love the trip report and the pictures, you and Matt are such a cute couple! That is so sweet he gave you the massage and carriage ride. Loved the powerade over the head story!

It looks like you guys had a great time and a great 5K!

 

[postesf]

Good Morning everyone! Thanks for all the really nice, sweet and supportive comments about my TR/RR!!! We all had such a good time.

It's quite funny now...My mom told Wed how it seemed odd that I seemed so unexcited after the 15K. I felt kinda bad. I attempted to tell my mom and dad how much meant to me that they were there to see us complete our first 15K. It's just that for some reason, my emotions are BEFORE the race...not after. I just feel spent. The anxiety, the anticiaption leading up to it and then you are focused. You just want to complete it. You cross the finish line and that's it. You are physically and emotionally tired. For me...there's nothing left. Inside I am very excited...Just not able or not enough energy to express that on the outside. I just kinda go through the motions...Get the medal, get the water, get the banana, go cheer on others, but I just don't/didn't have it me to be the over-the-top super excited "I finished" person at the time. I was the same way after my first 5K. I probably feel more excited about now, than I did just after. I've had time to think about it, process it... I've talked about it, looked at pictures... One thing I will NEVER forget...My dad running beside just outside of the barrier to the finish line. Looking back I feel like I should have tried to be more excited and thankful at the time for them being there and their support, but I was just focused and I needed Ice for my leg. That's all I could think about. Then Matt dissappeard to go find some injured woman's husband. (which was nice) but it kinda threw me for a loop--all of a sudden he's just gone. It's like my head gets all cloudy and foggy and I almost feel disoriented and not sure HOW to act. It's so weird. Bottom line is that I had a great experience and I was super excited that we finished. I hope the rest of my family know this and doens't feel bad in anyway... I am actually a super emotional person, but when it come to me I tend to internalize a lot of it and obviously the race was a lot about me...

So...now on to others things. I am STILL trying to get on track with the exercising. I plan to finalize my plan this weekend and start fresh on Monday. I am thinking my plan will look like this...

Mon--AM (before work) 30 min Pilates DVD
PM (afer work) XT w/ bike or elliptical and maybe a few light weights

Tue--AM 30 or 45 min run/walk
PM aquacise class

Wed--AM 30 min Pilates DVD
PM Maybe a 30 min walk...maybe nothing...maybe swim lessons

Thu--AM 30/45 min run/walk

Fri--Hmmmm Not sure...maybe 30 min Pilates AM

Sat--REST or leisurely bike ride

Sun--Long run/walk...Will be based on mileage, not time. Not sure exactly what yet. I may stick to three and then in a month or two increase it up to 4, then 4.5

It's still a bit up in the air, but I think this will be the basic plan. I don't want to start out by over-doing it. I just need a simple plan to keep me active until it's time to start training for the 1/2 Marathon. I may start the Couch to 5K plan again to see if that will help my speed. If nothing else, it's intervals which should help with the weight loss. My main is work in the pilates and get my run/walks in 3 days a week.

I have few 5ks on the radar to keep me focused. One is TOMORROW in Selma. Then one in Raleigh (Susan G Komen) on June 14, then I've got one July 19 in Beaufort (I may decide to do the 10K...we'll see.) I'm trying to convice my mom and dad to do it too. They have a 1K walk which my dad said he may do...but really...he could totally do the 5K! Hopefully, we can do one Nov 8 on Bald Head Island. I think that one would be way cool! They have a 10K as well so that's a possibility...

So...that' about all for now...Not much to report since I haven't been doing any training!

We're going for dinner tonight w/ Matt's family. We always go out for dinner for everyone's anniversary (that' is 4-5 dinners a year) We are going to Logan's. Yummy! They have the best "Logan's Roadhouse Ice Teas" Think Long-island iced tea...something similar but fruity! Yum!

Ok...enough from me. You guys have a great weekend and thanks for your support!!!